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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 7 586/ 06-1143 Filed November 29, 2007 ROBERT A. WRIGHT, SR., and BERNICE E. WRIGHT, Plaintiffs-Appellants, vs. MARY MALONEY, as Treasurer of Polk County, Iowa, and OHP 23, L.C., Defendants-Appellees. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, John D. Lloyd, Judge.

Plaintiff appeals the district court's summary judgment ruling that denied plaintiff's petition for a writ of mandamus compelling a county treasurer to cancel a tax sale. AFFIRMED.

Robert A. Wright, Des Moines, for appellant. Stephen P. Wing of Dwyer & Wing, P.C., Davenport, for appellee-OHP 23, L.C. Michael O'Meara, Des Moines, for appellee- Mary Maloney.

Heard by Sackett, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Baker, JJ.

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SACKETT, C.J. Plaintiff-appellant, Robert Wright, Sr. (Wright), petitioned the district court to issue a writ of mandamus to the Polk County Treasurer, Mary Maloney, ordering her to cancel a tax sale of property. Wright owned the property and OHP 23, L.C. (OHP 23) bought the property at a tax sale. The treasurer and OHP 23 were named as defendants. Wright asserted that statutory requirements of Iowa Code section 447.12 (2001) were not followed by OHP 23 when it filed an affidavit with the treasurer to obtain a tax deed. Wright also argued that because OHP 23's affidavit was not received by the treasurer within three years after the tax sale, the sale must be cancelled under section 446.37. The district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment, finding no writ could be issued as a matter of law. Wright appeals. I. BACKGROUND. Wright owns real property at 1130 11th Street, Des Moines, Iowa. After Wright failed to pay property taxes, the property was sold at a tax sale to OHP 23 on June 17, 2002. In exchange for paying the delinquent taxes, OHP 23

received a tax certificate for the property. In June 2005, an agent for OHP 23 prepared notices of redemption and an affidavit to be filed with the county treasurer as is required by statute to obtain a tax deed for the property. The notice of redemption was sent to Wright on June 10, 2005, informing him that his right to redeem the property would expire ninety days after service of the notice was completed. The record contains receipts showing this notice was sent by certified mail and Robert Wright signed when he received it. The affidavit sent to the treasurer states the notices were sent by both ordinary and certified

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mail. OHP 23's agent mailed the affidavit and application for a tax deed to the Polk County Treasurer on Friday, June 17, 2005, three years to the day after the tax sale. The mailing date is shown by a metered postmark. If a tax certificate holder does not file the affidavit with the treasurer within three years after the tax sale, the treasurer is required by statute to cancel the tax sale from the county's system. Iowa Code

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